Difference between revisions of "Tank Guide"

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==Initial Pull==
{{Retired
Most tanks know how to handle the initial pull, but there are a lot of misconceptions. The biggest one is using cooldowns before the pull. For a WAR, using Infuriate before the pull incurs no penalty at all (other then it being on cooldown), and therefore is highly encouraged. For PLD, however, it is both an enmity and DPS loss to use offensive cooldowns before the pull/while charging in. You will get a very slight increase to the initial Shield Lob, however, this means you will not be able to get 2 Circles and 4 Rages in on a cooldown rotation, which are your biggest enmity generators. It's best to weave cooldowns in between your enmity combo to maximize results.
| description1 = This is the [[Shadowbringers]] era guide.
| patch = 6.0
}}
This is a simple guide to some of the basics of tanking. If you understand these, as most tanks do, you're ready to tank!


==Single Add - Melee Range==
__TOC__
When adds spawn in the middle of the fight, they don't engage until after a preset time, usually this is 3-5 seconds. They do, however, start generating aggro as soon as they spawn, sometimes even before they are visible. As soon as they receive damage of any sort, they will go after whoever has the highest enmity, which is usually the healer if the tank doesn't handle the add correctly.
==Offense==
* Pull as much as you and the healer can handle in dungeons. The more you pull, the more damage your party does, because AOE attacks deal their potency to every enemy affected.
* Spamming AOE attacks is almost always better with 3 or more enemies. At lower levels this might mean hitting the same button over and over again, which sounds simple, but it is optimal.
* Do not move unnecessarily while tanking a boss. Position the boss so that its rear and flank are both available.
* While tank DPS rotations are simple, make sure you grasp the basics. Generally this means:
** "Always Be Casting (ABC)": Constantly triggering your [[Acronyms|GCD]] abilities, minimizing downtime. Sprint and gap-closers can help.
** Using [[Acronyms|oGCD]] abilities the moment they become available ("on cooldown"), without delaying your GCD cycles due to animations ("clipping").
** Fitting your damaging abilities as much as possible into your high-damage window; sometimes delaying oGCD abilities slightly to do so.


For single adds in melee range, it's best to 'preload' part of your enmity combo, meaning you've already used the precursors on a different mob before getting in position to intercept the new add. A lot of tanks will recommend having your combo finisher ready (Rage/BB), however it's actually not the best way to snap aggro. Having Savage Blade/Skull Sunder ready is for two reasons. Enmity isn't calculated until damage is dealt, which is at the end of the animation. Savage Blade/Skull Sunder have much quicker animations compared to Rage/BB, which means putting enmity on the target quicker. Also, by opening with Savage/Skull, that means your follow-up WILL be Rage/BB, which means even more enmity gain in the shortest possible amount of time.
==Defense==
* Keep your gear up to date. This is very important for tanks because gear affects your damage, HP and defense (how much damage you take):
** Before level 45, buy gear at the main markets of the three big cities to keep your gear updated. You can buy from NPCS or the market board.
** For level 45, do your job quest for gear.
** At level 50, visit [[Mor Dhona]] for [[Ironworks Armor]], which can be augmented to 130 at North Shroud. You can similarly obtain a weapon in Mor Dhona by trading poetics for the right tokens and items first.
** At level 60, visit [[Idyllshire]] for [[Shire Armor]] and the weapon, which can both be augmented to 270 there.
** At level 70, visit [[Rhalgr's Reach]] for [[Scaevan Armor]] and the weapon, which can both be augmented to 400 there.  
* {{action icon|Rampart}} and {{action icon|Reprisal}} are good cooldowns for both boss fights and large mob pulls.
* {{action icon|Arm's Length}} is an excellent cooldown for large mob pulls because it applies Slow to targets that auto-attack you. Very few bosses can be Slowed.
* Every tank has a powerful defensive cooldown (WAR: {{action icon|Vengeance}}, PLD: {{action icon|Sentinel}}, DRK: {{action icon|Shadow Wall}}, GNB: {{action icon|Nebula}}) that reduces damage by 30% and lasts for 15 seconds. It is best used when you anticipate taking a great amount of damage (such as a large pull, or boss tankbuster followed by raidwide).
* Space out your defensive cooldowns, do not blow all of them together.
* Every tank has a unique death-defying cooldown (WAR: {{action icon|Holmgang}}, PLD: {{action icon|Hallowed Ground}}, DRK: {{action icon|Living Dead}}, GNB: {{action icon|Superbolide}}). PLD and GNB should also use their cooldown during mob pulls to reduce damage (after informing the healer).
* Every tank also has abilities, sometimes multiple, to help their party reduce damage taken. Saving the party from wiping by protecting the healer/rez-mage is a great move.
* Your [[Limit Break]] does no damage. It reduces party damage taken for a short amount of time. With the exception of high-end content, it should only be used in the final Alexander fight.


==Single Add - Long Range==
==Enmity==
Most tanks know that you should never pull with Provoke, it's been beat into our heads. However, in the case of a single add at long range, it's actually the best thing to do. Here's why.
Enmity (aggro) is a mob's internal counter to determine which party member to attack, based on how much damage/healing each party member has done.
* There is always one main tank and the main tank should always have their tank stance on to vastly increase enmity generated. Other tanks in the party (if any) are known as off-tanks, and they should not have their tank stance on until the main tank has accrued a sizeable enmity lead, and they should avoid stealing aggro from the main tank unnecessarily.
* In the enemy list, a symbol next to the enemy's name indicates whether or not you are their top enmity target ("grabbed aggro"). As the main tank you should grab aggro on enemies, as indicated by a red square. Note that enemies you have never generated aggro on would not appear on the enemy list.  
* In the party list, a bar indicates how much aggro each party members has relatively generated against your current target. As of Shadowbringers the main tank should always generate vastly more enmity.
* In some fights all tanks must keep tank stance on to grab different enemies. This occurs in several 24-man raids.
* In some fights it is necessary to change the main tank during a mechanic ("tank swap"). To perform a tank swap, the off-tank needs to {{action icon|Provoke}}, setting their aggro level to a number slightly higher than the main tank's, and then the main tank should {{action icon|Shirk}} the off tank to guarantee the aggro won't return. Almost always, this should be done during the cast bar of a mechanic that forces tank swapping.


As I stated above, adds will not engage until they have been dealt damage, but while they are waiting there, the healer is building enmity up on the add. Pulling a ranged add with Provoke and immediately following with Shield Lob/Tomahawk basically 'steals' the healer's enmity for yourself. Also, the add won't start moving when hit by Provoke, they will start moving after the Shield Lob/Tomahawk connects. Using Provoke just turns into even more enmity gained, and a much higher chance you won't loss the mob to the healers as you get them into position.
==Job Guides==
 
Comprehensive job-specific guides are provided by [https://www.thebalanceffxiv.com/ The Balance].
==Multiple Adds - Melee Range==
Flash is your friend here. Once again, Flash doesn't deal damage, which means you can generate enmity without forcing mobs to engage. For PLD, the go-to for multiple mobs is Flash -> Circle -> Flash. It'll work 99% of the time. For WAR, they have a lot more options for AoE enmity generation. Starting with Flash is still good if the tank is prepositioned, as the mobs won't engage right away. Using Steel Cyclone though, will make the mobs move immediately, which can also be a good thing if the WAR is planning on following up with Overpower as they will be more grouped.
 
==Two Adds - Long Range==
Two adds spawn at the same time, in far apart locations, and need to be picked up by the same tank. This one can be a tough scenario for tanks. However, it's best handled by combining the three above strategies into one. 1) Start where you know one of the adds will spawn, and use a preloaded enmity move. 2) Then immediately Provoke the second add and follow up with a Shield Lob/Tomahawk. 3) Once both adds are close enough, use AoE enmity generation. You can even meet somewhere in the middle to speed up the process.
 
==Multiple Adds - Long Range==
This one tends to be the toughest scenario for new tanks. A bunch of adds spawn at the same time, severely spread out. It's impossible for the tank to get all of the adds at the same time, even with you running around, trying to Tomahawk all of them, or Flashing like a maniac. In these scenarios, let your healer pull aggro and as the tank, get close to where the healer is standing. Watching target lines will make it easy to see where the adds are going to go. It'll feel weird the first few times, but the healer will quickly group all of the adds together, and the tank can swiftly gain aggro on all of the adds at the same time, causing the healer to take minimal damage. For PLD, you can Cover the healer to prevent that damage since you going to be next to each other anyways.
Hopefully this guide will help tanks both new and old. Feel free to ask any questions in the comments below.

Latest revision as of 17:38, 13 February 2023

Retired Content
  • The subject of this article was retired or removed from the game in patch 6.0, and is no longer available to players.
  • Retired items may still be kept in inventory but can no longer be renewably obtained. Tradable items may still be obtained from the Market Board or directly trading with other players.
  • The information in this article is kept and maintained for historical purposes.
  • This is the Shadowbringers era guide.

This is a simple guide to some of the basics of tanking. If you understand these, as most tanks do, you're ready to tank!

Offense

  • Pull as much as you and the healer can handle in dungeons. The more you pull, the more damage your party does, because AOE attacks deal their potency to every enemy affected.
  • Spamming AOE attacks is almost always better with 3 or more enemies. At lower levels this might mean hitting the same button over and over again, which sounds simple, but it is optimal.
  • Do not move unnecessarily while tanking a boss. Position the boss so that its rear and flank are both available.
  • While tank DPS rotations are simple, make sure you grasp the basics. Generally this means:
    • "Always Be Casting (ABC)": Constantly triggering your GCD abilities, minimizing downtime. Sprint and gap-closers can help.
    • Using oGCD abilities the moment they become available ("on cooldown"), without delaying your GCD cycles due to animations ("clipping").
    • Fitting your damaging abilities as much as possible into your high-damage window; sometimes delaying oGCD abilities slightly to do so.

Defense

  • Keep your gear up to date. This is very important for tanks because gear affects your damage, HP and defense (how much damage you take):
    • Before level 45, buy gear at the main markets of the three big cities to keep your gear updated. You can buy from NPCS or the market board.
    • For level 45, do your job quest for gear.
    • At level 50, visit Mor Dhona for Ironworks Armor, which can be augmented to 130 at North Shroud. You can similarly obtain a weapon in Mor Dhona by trading poetics for the right tokens and items first.
    • At level 60, visit Idyllshire for Shire Armor and the weapon, which can both be augmented to 270 there.
    • At level 70, visit Rhalgr's Reach for Scaevan Armor and the weapon, which can both be augmented to 400 there.
  • Rampart.png  Rampart and Reprisal.png  Reprisal are good cooldowns for both boss fights and large mob pulls.
  • Arm's Length.png  Arm's Length is an excellent cooldown for large mob pulls because it applies Slow to targets that auto-attack you. Very few bosses can be Slowed.
  • Every tank has a powerful defensive cooldown (WAR: Vengeance.png  Vengeance, PLD: Sentinel.png  Sentinel, DRK: Shadow Wall.png  Shadow Wall, GNB: Nebula.png  Nebula) that reduces damage by 30% and lasts for 15 seconds. It is best used when you anticipate taking a great amount of damage (such as a large pull, or boss tankbuster followed by raidwide).
  • Space out your defensive cooldowns, do not blow all of them together.
  • Every tank has a unique death-defying cooldown (WAR: Holmgang.png  Holmgang, PLD: Hallowed Ground.png  Hallowed Ground, DRK: Living Dead.png  Living Dead, GNB: Superbolide.png  Superbolide). PLD and GNB should also use their cooldown during mob pulls to reduce damage (after informing the healer).
  • Every tank also has abilities, sometimes multiple, to help their party reduce damage taken. Saving the party from wiping by protecting the healer/rez-mage is a great move.
  • Your Limit Break does no damage. It reduces party damage taken for a short amount of time. With the exception of high-end content, it should only be used in the final Alexander fight.

Enmity

Enmity (aggro) is a mob's internal counter to determine which party member to attack, based on how much damage/healing each party member has done.

  • There is always one main tank and the main tank should always have their tank stance on to vastly increase enmity generated. Other tanks in the party (if any) are known as off-tanks, and they should not have their tank stance on until the main tank has accrued a sizeable enmity lead, and they should avoid stealing aggro from the main tank unnecessarily.
  • In the enemy list, a symbol next to the enemy's name indicates whether or not you are their top enmity target ("grabbed aggro"). As the main tank you should grab aggro on enemies, as indicated by a red square. Note that enemies you have never generated aggro on would not appear on the enemy list.
  • In the party list, a bar indicates how much aggro each party members has relatively generated against your current target. As of Shadowbringers the main tank should always generate vastly more enmity.
  • In some fights all tanks must keep tank stance on to grab different enemies. This occurs in several 24-man raids.
  • In some fights it is necessary to change the main tank during a mechanic ("tank swap"). To perform a tank swap, the off-tank needs to Provoke.png  Provoke, setting their aggro level to a number slightly higher than the main tank's, and then the main tank should Shirk.png  Shirk the off tank to guarantee the aggro won't return. Almost always, this should be done during the cast bar of a mechanic that forces tank swapping.

Job Guides

Comprehensive job-specific guides are provided by The Balance.


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